# Southland Conference women's basketball tournament

The Southland Conference's Women’s Basketball Tournament began in 1983, with the winner of the tournament receiving the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. There was no tournament from 1984-1987, but in 1988 the season-ending tradition returned for good, with a format much as in the men's tournament, with opening rounds at the home court of the higher seed, and a designated location thereafter.
Starting in 2007, both the men's and women's tournaments were played at the same neutral site, for all rounds.
The tournament was held at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas from 2008 to 2022. Starting in 2023, the event moved to The Legacy Center on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, reportedly as part of a deal that kept McNeese in the Southland after it had been courted by Conference USA and nearly joined the Western Athletic Conference. An extension to 2029 for The Legacy Center to serve as the basketball tournament venue was announced on August 29, 2023.

## Tournament results

| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Tournament MVP | Location |
| 1983 | Louisiana-Monroe | 94–81 | McNeese State | Eun Jung Lee, Louisiana-Monroe | Monroe, Louisiana |
| 1984 | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. |
| 1985 | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. |
| 1986 | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. |
| 1987 | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. | No Tournament Held. |
| 1988 | Stephen F. Austin | 92–85 | Louisiana-Monroe | Mozell Brooks, Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| 1989 | Stephen F. Austin | 82–73 | Northwestern State | Portia Hill, Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| 1990 | Stephen F. Austin | 93–83 | Northwestern State | Pam Hudson, Northwestern State | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| 1991 | Stephen F. Austin | 70–58 | Louisiana-Monroe | Stacey Jackson, Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| 1992 | Stephen F. Austin | 77–58 | Northwestern State | Lori Davis, Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| 1993 | Stephen F. Austin | 77–75 | Northwestern State | Deneen Parker, Stephen F. Austin | campus sites, final played in Nacogdoches, TX |
| 1994 | Stephen F. Austin | 73–65 | Louisiana-Monroe | Trenia Tillis, Stephen F. Austin | Nacogdoches, TX |
| 1995 | Stephen F. Austin | 68–60 | Northwestern State | Latonia Bonnett, Stephen F. Austin | campus sites, final played in Shreveport, Louisiana |
| 1996 | Stephen F. Austin | 76–58 | Texas State | Latonia Bonnett, Stephen F. Austin | Shreveport, LA |
| 1997 | Texas State | 77–65 | Stephen F. Austin | Jerri Cooper, Texas State | Shreveport, LA |
| 1998 | Stephen F. Austin | 84–52 | Louisiana-Monroe | Katrina Price, Stephen F. Austin | Shreveport, LA |
| 1999 | Stephen F. Austin | 90–77 | Northwestern State | Anitra Davis, Stephen F. Austin | Shreveport, LA |
| 2000 | Stephen F. Austin | 79–68 | Northwestern State | Shawnta Johnson, Stephen F. Austin | campus sites, final played in Shreveport, LA |
| 2001 | Stephen F. Austin | 82–73 | Northwestern State | Latisha Prater, Stephen F. Austin | campus sites, final played in Bossier City, Louisiana |
| 2002 | Stephen F. Austin | 76–52 | Northwestern State | Amy Collins, Stephen F. Austin | campus sites, final played in Nacogdoches, TX |
| 2003 | Texas State | 68–56 | Texas–San Antonio | Tori Talbert, Texas State | campus sites, final played in San Antonio, Texas |
| 2004 | Northwestern State | 78–71 | Texas–Arlington | Tori Talbert, Texas State | campus sites, final played in Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| 2005 | Texas–Arlington | 69–54 | Louisiana-Monroe | Terra Wallace, Texas-Arlington | campus sites, final played in Monroe, Louisiana |
| 2006 | Stephen F. Austin | 56–48 | Texas–San Antonio | LaToya Mills, Stephen F. Austin | campus sites, final played in Nacogdoches, Texas |
| 2007 | Texas-Arlington | 68–47 | Stephen F. Austin | Terra Wallace, Texas-Arlington | Campbell Center, Houston, TX |
| 2008 | Texas–San Antonio | 65–56 | Lamar | Monica Gibbs, Texas–San Antonio | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2009 | Texas–San Antonio | 74–63 | Texas–Arlington | Onika Anderson, Texas–San Antonio | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2010 | Lamar | 86–59 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Darika Hill, Lamar | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2011 | McNeese State | 71–50 | Central Arkansas | Ashlyn Baggett, McNeese | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2012 | McNeese State | 60–56 | Stephen F. Austin | Caitlyn Baggett, McNeese | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2013 | Oral Roberts | 72–66 | Sam Houston State | Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2014 | Northwestern State | 62–44 | Stephen F. Austin | Trudy Armstead, Northwestern State | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2015 | Northwestern State | 58–50 | Houston Baptist | Beatrice Attura, Northwestern State | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2016 | Central Arkansas | 69–62 | Sam Houston State | Angela Beadle, Sam Houston State | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2017 | Central Arkansas | 60–30 | Stephen F. Austin | Maggie Proffitt, Central Arkansas | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2018 | Nicholls State | 69–65 | Stephen F. Austin | Cassidy Barrios, Nicholls | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2019 | Abilene Christian | 69–68 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Breanna Wright, Abilene Christian | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19. | Canceled due to COVID-19. | Canceled due to COVID-19. | Canceled due to COVID-19. | Canceled due to COVID-19. |
| 2021 | Stephen F. Austin | 56–45 | Sam Houston | Aaliyah Johnson, Stephen F. Austin | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2022 | Incarnate Word | 56–52$^{OT}$ | Southeastern Louisiana | Tiana Gardner, Incarnate Word | Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, TX |
| 2023 | Southeastern Louisiana | 66–57 | Lamar | Hailey Giaratano, Southeastern Louisiana | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2024 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 68–61 | Lamar | Paige Allen, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2025 | Stephen F. Austin | 65–57 | Southeastern Louisiana | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2026 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2027 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2028 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| 2029 | | | | | The Legacy Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana |

## Performance by school

| School | Championships | Championship Years |
| Stephen F. Austin | 16 | 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2021, 2025 |
| Northwestern State | 3 | 2004, 2014, 2015 |
| Texas State | 2 | 1997, 2003 |
| UT Arlington | 2 | 2005, 2007 |
| UTSA | 2 | 2008, 2009 |
| McNeese | 2 | 2011, 2012 |
| Central Arkansas | 2 | 2016, 2017 |
| Louisiana–Monroe | 1 | 1983 |
| Lamar | 1 | 2010 |
| Oral Roberts | 1 | 2013 |
| Nicholls | 1 | 2018 |
| Abilene Christian | 1 | 2019 |
| Incarnate Word | 1 | 2022 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | 1 | 2023 |
| Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 1 | 2024 |
| UTRGV | 0 | |
| East Texas A&M | 0 | |
| Houston Christian | 0 | |
| New Orleans | 0 | |
| TOTAL | 37 | |
* In 2024-25, UTRGV first joined the Southland and Stephen F. Austin return to the SLC after a three-season absence.
* Schools highlighted in pink are former members of the Southland